Toyota Leans In with i-Road Concept

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Japanese auto giant dreams up an electric leaning closed trike for the Geneva show.

Automakers have plenty of work on their hands diversifying the types of vehicles they can produce on conventional, four-wheel layouts. But every once in a while their prototype departments push the envelope with something different. And that’s just what Toyota has in store for the Geneva show this year. Called the i-Road, this is Toyota’s concept for a three-wheeled electric urban mobility vehicle. Similar to Nissan's four-wheeled Land Glider or BMW's CLEVER trike (or any motorbike, for that matter) the i-Road leans into turns.

The narrow cockpit incorporates tandem seating (not unlike the Renault Twizy), allowing it to weave in between stopped traffic and park with ease. With two wheels up front and one in the back, the whole thing measures 2.35 meters long, 850mm wide and 1.4 meters tall, and weighs about 660 lbs. A pair of electric motors produce just 27 horsepower each, so it’s not very fast – in fact it can only top out at 28 mph, but cruising at 18 mph it’ll take you around 30 miles on a single charge. In other words, even in concept form, it may be good for running around the neighborhood, but not much farther than that.